Why doesn't Marshall make hi-tech lines for bass amps/cabs?

[Riff Ranger]

I like Marshall bass amps and some little kid inside me loves the idea of having a Marshall logo behind me in a big stage... I feel like most bass players just don’t look to Marshall for products. Marshall has cornered a very particular tone in the guitar world. You want that tone you go Marshall. It seems from what I remember every time they have given it a try there has been push back from players who have brand loyalty. Mesa, Fender, and orange to a rad job crushing both sides but Marshall just hasn’t been able to make that leap. Plus Marshall has kinda been riding off the name for a minute.

I think this is what I can’t quite put my finger on. Lemmy’s Marshall is no small part of the fascination for me (this album and I were “released” within days of each other), but there’s more to it than that.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Was, for me, Eden is one more brand absorbed into a big corporation with none of the inspiration or creative design when it was in its' original ownership. One more 'used to be'. How it survives after the initial train wreck of the sale is beyond me, the handoff was disastrous. I bought a brand-new Metro and 115 cabinet in the midst of that, and it was simply the worst purchase I EVER made.

Years ago when I first became interested in Eden, I looked at the Metro and tried to lift a corner of it and bought a Nemesis 115 combo instead. LOL. I eventually bought a D-115t that was one of the most underwhelming cabs I’ve ever owned. Now, my D-210xlt and D-210xst are the real deal. Paired the are incredible.

Truth in advertising, if an extra 10-15 lbs per cab is an issue, I understand. But to those where it wouldn’t matter, I highly recommend them. They are durable, well built, well designed, well tuned, and made for life on the road.

As for the heads, well, I like them, especially the 3 band parametric EQ. Plenty of power, lots of flexibility when plumbing them up. The World Tour, and the World Tour Pro series amps are stereo amps for the most part which is why they are considered somewhat heavy. Two amps in one. The plus here is you can balance in matched cabs, or operate in bridge mode. They have built in compression and coupled with the D Series cabs, you have tone for days.

 

[logdrum]

They made a fridge that actually cools beer unlike that Ampeg version. Bassist got to drink. Don't worry, there's O'Doul's and Kombucha for the non drinkers.

 

[logdrum]

Also - Marshall's first amp was a modded Bassman which was a bass amp. Mesa's Randy Smith, the founder first product apart from the modded Princeton's were bass amps. The guitar world really needs to thank bassists. Also the Marshall bass spec head - guitarists also had to steal that one. So if Marshall makes a bass amp today in a couple of years or so guitar players are going to steal it again - to power their Kemper and Fractal thingys.

Another history for you. The Subway series was originally a Mesa EL-84 combo line after the studio 22 was discontinued. I had the Subway Blues and the Rocket 44. Greta little amps, specially the subway Blues.

Then when I started back here again in TB. 2017, it is now the bass product line. When I saw a Subway 800 watt head, I thought that must a 200 pound beast costing $7000 with 36 6L6 tubes and Randy has gone insane only to be disappointed that it was a 6 lb head. Another smiley so the old horse don't smack me.

 

[NeonVomit]

I tried a Marshall VB400 all-tube head and matching 4x12 cabinet years ago. It was the backline at a show I played.

Wooly, floppy tone, no definition however hard you tried to boost mids and cut bass, just lost in the mix. Hated it. Not sure if it was the head or the cabinet, but it made me swear off tube amps for a good long time, I've only owned solid state or hybrid amps since. If the rest of the bass amps they made were like that, no thanks!

 

[SteveCS]

Back in the 80s Marshall offered a line called Integrated Bass System (IBS). See this thread: About Integrated Bass System amps... | MarshallForum.com

I used one of the 3540s for a couple of years, and I remember it as a great sounding amp with lots of features. To my ears, this amp was very HiFi and clean.
...
...but eventually something more serious let out the smoke and we wrote the amp off.

I also used one of those from ~'87 to ~'93/4, when it also suffered a 'smoke leak'. I left it with a local guy for repair. I left forwarding details when I moved out of town but never got the call to say it was fixed or BER, so I don't even have the sentimental paperweight.

 

[crapusername]

There’s not been a single mention of the dynamic bass series of amps.
It’s probably one of their longest running bass lines- which was produced for around ten years.
Massive power, massive headroom, amazing tone.
The fella from muse used them for many years. ( I assume he’s now on some sort of modelling thing by now )
I’ve been using them for twenty years and still love the 400w heads. Nothing I’ve tried sounds as good or inspires me in the same way.
it always makes me happy to see an entire Marshall back line at a show.
The vba is an amazing piece of kit- never found it woolly or loose sounding. Bags of top end available. Tom araya was using them until the end of slayer.
My experience of the Eden gear is ok-
But not great.
Never found that it inspired me.
Such a shame that they felt that the Marshall name wasn’t suitable for the bass market.

 

[Gizmot]

Quite a few legendary bass players like Chris Squire, Lemmy and others have used Marshalls. However, from a pure marketing standpoint, the Marshall brand hold the position of "rock guitar amps" in the minds of a large number of musicians. Marshall is probably a lot like Gibson in that they've never invested the time, energy and resources to develop bass amps that weren't simply modified guitar amps. From a balance sheet point of view, it costs less to buy a brand, which is what Marshall did when they acquired Eden, than it does to develop new products from the ground up. Could Marshall develop bass amps and succeed? They probably could, but I doubt they ever will.

 

[Chickenwheels]

Ironically, the Marshall Stack was John Entwhistle’s idea AFAIK.

 

[chaosMK]

Marshall has barely come out with anything new in my lifetime (I turned 40). Their main cabs are the same old GT-75 cabs that they've been making for decades. Their best head they have yet to surpass is the JCM-800 which is also decades.

Nowadays if you want a "Marshall" other companies make them better.

 

[HardNHeavy]

often wondered this too. Lemmy had a stack of Marshall bass amps. In 2008 Marshall released the "1992LEM", a signature series copy of his 1992 100 Watt Super Bass Unit, "Murder One"

 

[4stringfarley]

I love my Marshall Guitar amps, but when it comes to bass I prefer brands that focus on bass rather than a side thought as simply a larger guitar.

 

[El_Charro]

I had no idea that Eden was owned by Marshall (Lol-isn't that the amp brand that William MurderFace from Metalocalypse uses)???

Appreciate this thread from learning that info about Eden because although it doesn't really change what I'm leaning towards from an Amp/Cab situation, it does make me understand why I almost never see a Marshall Bass Amp for sale (haven't really gone looking on Reverb for a used one), so like the OP I wasn't sure why they didn't make really make bass amps (especially combos).

OP- Thank you for posting since you weren't the only person who had asked that question at one time.

Thanks! \m/

 

[vvvmmm]

Eden is a Marshall brand. In their case, I don’t know if they operate as an independent company or if they are simply a brand. This is a good question.

FWIW, the website is ht[BREAK]tps://marshall.com/eden-amps which seems to me indicates it's a brand?

 

[Chickenwheels]

It’d be like Land Rover building a sports car.

 

[vvvmmm]

Yeah but, Porsche builds a SUV, as does Lincoln, etc. ...

 

[Chickenwheels]

Yeah but, Porsche builds a SUV, as does Lincoln, etc. ...

Don’t get me started on what I think of that...

 

[Chickenwheels]

...and a Land Rover ain’t no SUV. It was built to a task.

 

[vvvmmm]

I used to run around some in a Toyota Land Cruiser - I know whatcha mean.

 

[Fishheadjoe]

Happy VBA400 owner here! It weighs more than my daughter and looks like a muffin top on my Bergie NV610, but I find that I can get over it quickly, when I power up the rig.
Fishheadjoe[